


Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

by AlexandriaPaige



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: All hail the glorified prompt, Alternate Universe, Angst, AroAce get ship asks out of my face, Curses, Gen, NOW WITH ADDED DRABBLE, Puppy! Zuko, Shameless art bait, Spirits, Viva la gen revolution, blame muffinlance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22826206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexandriaPaige/pseuds/AlexandriaPaige
Summary: The Work Formerly Known As Werewolf Zuko AU Outline.An outline for an in-universe AU in which Zuko gets even more issues when a spirit curses him into a weredog. Now including bonus drabbles.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 265





	1. Pre-Canon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



> You can all blame MuffinLance for this. (Dammit Jim! I’m a lurker not a writer!) This is a cursed WIP outline, but we need drabbles and fan art to tide us over until MuffinLance’s next chapter so here you go. It ain’t much, but it’s honest work. (And literally all I can do.)

bb! Zuko goes a-hunting for Avatar Clues (aka the most cursed locations possible) as Banished Princes do. Uncle is... concerned, but has he actually ever STOPPED Zuko from doing Bad Ideas before? No. So bb! Zuko stomps off with his teeny tiny bandages into the Super Haunted Place as soon as he’s physically able to stomp. Alone, because what’s even the point of Avatar Hunting if you can’t angst in solitude?

Bad Idea is **Bad**. [Spirit] shows up and does NOT like the answer to “What Are You Doing In My Swamp?!” (Aka “my dad is literally evil and cashed in more child abuse points at once than were previously thought to exist in the entire world.)

“If the Fire Lord wants a cowering dog instead of a son,” [Spirit] says, “Who would I be not to oblige him?” Boom! Cursed.

Maybe nothing happens at first. Maybe Zuko immediately sprouts adorable puppy ears. But by the end of the lunar cycle one thing is very, VERY clear: Zuko’s now physically tied to the moon. He’s human during the new moon, dog during the full, and somewhere in between the rest of the time. ~~And devastatingly adorable the entire month long.~~

The crew managed to avoid fraternization and Treasonous Thoughts for three years in canon. They last all of a week with puppy! Zuko before giving up and hopping on the Treason Train: Next Stop Punching Ozai In the Face. He gets no more actual respect than in canon. In fact, he may have even less. Pity and affection aren’t synonymous to respect, after all. And oh boy is this curse interfering with any attempts to impress them with physical skill like in canon.

He can’t do anything during the full moon. (Except get pets and accumulate negative respect points.) He can do next to nothing before and after the full moon because his joints and muscles and even bones hurt too much. He has 15 billion dietary restrictions because of his conflicting human and dog metabolisms. He’s Olympic gymnast tiny because of all the stress on his growth plates. And the absolute cherry on top? He has to relearn how to do _everything_ for each lunar phase because nnngh stupid tail throwing off his balance and shifting color vision throwing everything off and gggaah he just hit his ears again OWW.

Zhao? Somehow WORSE than canon.

Avatar Hunting takes a backseat to curse breaking, of course. Over Zuko’s protests: poor bb is convinced that he was cursed because of his disobedience and capturing the Avatar as his Father ordered will break it. But disobeying UNCLE probably won’t help on the curse front either.

(And if you can’t immediately see the horrific levels of angst coming, you need to stop and read all of MuffinLance’s works and then come back to this.)


	2. Book One

Sokka’s terrified of the tiny glowy eyed hell beast leading the Fire Nation soldiers... until boomerang knocks down his hood.

Zuko explains his curse and his quest and thus starts out the series with negative intimidation points. Zuko’s crew does more of the actual capturing, and Aang holds off on the escape in favor of attempting to pet Zuko’s silky soft puppy ears and season two hair.

(He caved on shaving because a) puppy ears looked ridiculous on his shaved head and b) it was obvious when he couldn’t shave because of his stupid joints and stupid paws and no way was he letting anyone else shave his head for him.)

Sokka and Katara are sorry, but they’ll be rescuing the Avatar now- _Aang get your hands off the prince of the Fire Nation no you can’t just go with him and see what they want get on the bison now._

The Southern Air temple! Canon Aangst with bonus speculation on what kind of spirit would curse somebody for disobeying the freaking Fire Lord. Not one the Avatar needs to meet, for sure.

Zhao. Worse than canon. The Dragon of the West wants your hands off of his nephew’s head this instance you slime weevil.

Remember how Zuko’s convinced disobedience got him cursed? Puppy! Zuko doesn’t even dream of lying or back talking. Not even to Zhao, even with Uncle’s blessing (as far as he can tell through the proverbs, anyway. Probably best not to risk it.)

He can’t drink tea this close to the full moon, but Zhao has an excellent bone broth just for him while they discuss their arctic adventure. I guess, anyway: what moon phase did the series start on and do we care when we can warp time for maximum angst.

Zhao insists on “helping.” Zuko being Zuko, there is neither force nor spirit nor curse that can stop him from telling him off for perceived unnecessary force against Kyoshi island. (Property damage and EMPTY threats are one thing. THIS, this is most definitely not.)

The Gaang also wants Zhao’s slime weevil hands off Zuko’s head and also for Zhao to walk off an iceberg during a blizzard, thanks. Katara is perfectly willing to make that happen, but not QUITE able. Yet.

Uncle Iroh backs Zuko up on the “Thanks but no thanks, PLEASE leave” front. The Dragon of the West is literally steaming, and Zhao isn’t going to press his luck THAT much. Uncle is thrilled that his nephew is at least still vaguely acquainted with Not Being a Doormat.

Things are mostly canon on the Gaang’s side, though this time they’ve already seen true Fire Nation evil (Zhao) and are well aware that Fire Nation infighting is definitely a thing.

A cursed Fire Nation prince is good gossip, though, and everyone wants to share the version THEY last heard. Sokka especially appreciates the ten foot tall hell beast that eats children version.

Zuko IS NOT getting in the hot spring, Uncle, his joints are fine. But he will hang out in the VICINITY of the hot spring rather than stomp off.

...Hey Uncle, does anything sound weird to you? OH SHIT EARTHBENDERS.

Uncle Iroh may tolerate threats to his own person, but these uppity Earthbenders WILL NOT kick the dog on his watch. Zuko REALLY wants some brain bleach for two very different reasons now.

(He’d also like to be able to defend himself instead of relying on Uncle and the crew, thanks. Uncle... actually has an idea.)

While Zhao and the Gaang are having The Winter Solstice Part II, Zuko and Iroh are having a Life Changing Field Trip with the Sun Warriors. The Sun Warriors are adamant that he wasn’t cursed for disobedience and Zuko is Shook because WHY ELSE?!

But yay new butt kicking abilities from understanding the True Meaning of Firebending. Firebenders don’t NEED to move as long as they can breath, which is very useful when one is having lunar connected mobility issues.

The Waterbending Scroll still happens, but with Iroh taking the lead because Zuko is still Shook. But he stands up to the pirates and Iroh is so proud of his fur baby learning how to make decisions again.

Jet and The Great Divide happen, but why do we care? Unless somebody throws in some gratuitous curse mentioning it’s just canon.

Zuko’s ship is parked in the harbor during The Storm because the crew Been Knew and no way is puppy! Zuko contradicting Uncle.

The Blue Spirit. Zuko makes an EVEN MORE convincing spirit this time round. There is 10000% more sneak because fighting off an entire fortress is just not going to happen in this verse.

Zuko does not get knocked out and Aang is a hell of a lot more respectful-wary of spirits. Zuko lets Aang go, and has a heart to heart with Uncle Iroh because of it. Uncle is ecstatic: Zuko’s made more life decisions in the past month than in the entire two and a half years since he got cursed/banished. And, of course, he APPROVES of THIS decision.

The Fortune Teller. The Gaang Does Not Mess With the Occult. Sokka is CERTAIN this isn’t the occult. Katara and Aang aren’t so sure.

Zuko is a strong independent man who don’t need no Jun. He does, however need some back up -put me down you can’t just pick me up and restrain me after I caught the Avatar this is an OUTRAGE.

Aang is thrilled to discover that Zuko’s hair and puppy ears are just as soft as he’d imagined. Lt. Jee is thrilled to discover the Water Tribe Barbarian hasn’t harmed his prince. Zuko is appalled at being traded back in exchange for letting the Gaang go, but his crew is less invested in the whole Zuko making choices than Uncle is.

The Deserter and The Northern Air Temple happen, but do we care? No. Just watch the canon episodes.

Zhao commandeers Zuko’s crew, but blows up his ship while Zuko and Iroh are “enjoying” his hospitality. Aka Zhao insulting the crew’s management of Zuko’s pre full moon pain and insisting his own infirmary can do a much better job. Oh and now that there’s nothing else better for you to do you might as well come watch me bring glory to the Fire Nation.

Iroh has a MUCH better plan for infiltrating the city than “follow the turtle seals.” Which is good, because Zuko is most definitely a Fire Nation breed and it. is. cold.

Yue backs up the Sun Warriors on the curse not stemming from Zuko’s disobedience to the Fire Lord.

Aang is not captured, and Zuko saves the moon spirit by biting the heck out of Zhao’s arm when he grabs the Moon Koi.

Aang goes into the Avatar State and blows the fleet away. Which still saves countless lives compared to Koizilla.

But Zuko’s been badly burned and needs healing, so the Grand Lotus reveal comes hella early and Zuko has a “oh shit Uncle Iroh is a traitor” crisis. He literally cannot run away until the spirit forsaken moon eases up, though, so Uncle Iroh has time to spin the “no this is actually FOR the Fire Nation” spiel.

ALTERNATE VERSION: Zuko gets yoinked by the Ocean spirit instead of Aang. This works out great for the Fire fleet, super bad for Zhao, and fantastic for fan artists and the in-universe rumor mill.


	3. Book 2 and Ending 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I do have legitimate excuses but I’ve also got hot Starbucks as I sneak into the back of this lecture hall. Also, if somebody would write a Hadoka-and-Bato-Time-Travel-To-The-Past au of MuffinLance’s Salvage that would be great. As I’ve said before, I CANNOT prose and every time I try to think of something vaguely productive: there it is, mocking me. 3 scenes that could have been decent drabbles at least. But I can barely even outline.

It doesn’t matter how Zuko feels about treason, because the wanted posters have already been printed and [Nearest Fire Nation Outpost Commander] is quite certain the Fire Lord doesn’t think but the Fire Nation needs the moon too is an adequate defense. Would you PLEASE hurry up and jump out the unsecured window while my back is turned?

Canon is officially in the dust. Uncle Iroh has agreed to teach Aang Firebending as soon as he masters Earth, the White Locus is on call, and Zuko’s Morality Coma is ready to start at any second.

Gaang dynamics! The Gaang has negative fear of Zuko and by proxy Iroh and exactly zero qualms about adopting them into the Gaang. They also just watched Zuko walk into a Fire Nation fort to try and plead his not a traitor case and get rejected. This naturally included a discussion about Zuko’s original banishment and curse. So the Gaang is very sympathetic and well aware of Zuko’s inability to make choices don’t hurt himself. It’s slow going, but Zuko gradually manages to pull himself together and earn their respect and friendship and not just their pity.

Katara? Not as happy about having an Actual Adult around as she thought she would be. She is Team Mom, and implied to be somewhat of a leader to those left behind in the Southern Water Tribe. It’s also a bit of a shock to not be Special and Important for her bending.

(The Northern Water Tribe definitely did not count with all her special concessions for being The First Woman To Fight and friend/mentor to the Avatar.)

Zuko is a perfect target for Aggressive Reactive Mothering, but all roads lead to Spirit Vigilanting. (They DO NOT use the names or likenesses of any actual spirits, though.)

Aang? Absolutely THRILLED to have an adult teacher figure. Absolutely DEVASTATED to confront evil and his world saving responsibilities. Watching Iroh and Zuko practice has gotten him over his fear of fire, though. VERY bad at respecting Zuko’s boundaries when he’s so soft and fluffy- major character growth potential ahoy.

Sokka? Struggling through his Fire Nation phobia. He’s the best at interpreting Proverb and is the self proclaimed Idea Guy, so he quickly cements himself as Iroh’s protege. He’s making an effort to keep Zuko included: he’s had three years without any adult male figures in his life and he doesn’t want to take Zuko’s from him.

But it’s SO HARD when Zuko’s plans are all ‘I sneak past ‘em or I distract them and if that doesn’t work I’ll make something up when I get there.’ He definitely 100% does not find Zuko fluffy and huggable and surprisingly funny and appreciative of his own humor. 

Puppy! Zuko crimps discretion almost as much as Appa and Aang. The White Lotus helps immensely with resources, but he’s also well aware of what a burden his nutritional and medical needs are. Every stop is a coin toss between people believing he’s a monster or a hero and it’s stressing him out so bad.

The Cave of Two Lovers is particularly rough. Having the fact that a) his father disowned him for doing something good and b) he CANNOT go home, ever, sung at him for several hours triggers his morality coma.

Uncle is much more concerned about the OOC than in canon because ‘repressed emotions to survive/please somebody’ is a lot higher on his list of Things That Could Be Happening. Not to be too salty, but _as it should have been._ Zuko snaps out of it during the next disaster per canon and everyone breaths a sigh of relief.

Iroh steers Return to Omashu in a different direction, but not as different as he would have hoped.

Sokka still orchestrates an outbreak of Pentapox, Tom-Tom is still accidentally kidnapped, and the Gaang still meets Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.

In a _shocking_ (hehe) turn of events, Zuko saves the day with some Grade A WTF Firebending. Azula has absolutely no idea what’s going on with him and she Does Not Like It. Mai has no absolutely no idea what’s going on with him and VERY Much Likes It. Ty Lee has CONCERNS about trying to chi block a dog. She quickly ceases sharing them with Azula.

The Swamp was stressful in canon. To the werewolf au Gaang ~It’S a FuCkInG nIgHtMaRe~ But Katara is On Board for learning some Swampbending: Zuko’s got the flame/ spark puppy of doom thing going for him during their Amazing Vigilante Adventures and she needs to step up her Spooky.

Avatar Day ends VERY quickly with an Avatar specialist and a Voice of Reason in tow. No Aang, Kyoshi absolutely did do it and they ARE NOT KIDDING about the oil. Get on the bison we’re leaving right now. We’ll have that Deep Angsty Conversation in flight.

The Blind Bandit happens almost exactly like canon because Iroh is White Lotusing and Zuko is conveniently side lined due to the curse. So we save the sweet, sweet Zuko-Toph meeting til the very end where we can truly savor it.

Toph is Immune to the Cute and gives absolutely no fucks about Zuko’s physical disabilities and will accept nothing less than the entire Gaang getting on her level. Zuko has no clue what to do with the first unconditional respect he’s seen in years. Well, it’s Toph: respect may not be the correct word.

Iroh nips The Chase in the bud as any halfway competent military man would and the Gaang has their second close encounter of the Azula kind un sleep deprived. Azula is still Shook by Zuko’s Bunny Eared Lawyer firebending and hightails it outta there when SHE gets a near face-full of lightening.

EVERYONE is having intertwining Shenanigans while Aang and Toph struggle through Earthbending lessons. Like, panning back and forth between Zuko and Sokka (attempting) hunting, Katara and Zuko Spirit Vigilanting across the country side, Iroh beating back spirits with a stick, and Aang and Toph screaming for an entire chapter.

The Gaang DOES NOT STEAL FROM THE BIG SCARY KNOWLEDGE SPIRIT. A little terror and a lot of deference (and Iroh) goes a long way, There are several different potential storylines from here.

One plot line: Zuko finds a way to defeat the Fire Lord. Idk, maybe he finds some lost firebending and law scrolls and realizes he can challenge his father to an Agni Kai for the throne even as an exile and probably win.

He decides to do the thing. Without telling anybody about it, because it’s risky and his father could kill him. Simply choosing to face Ozai fulfills the curse, so that answers the how to sneak all the way to Caldera question.

Cue Gaang freak out when they find Zuko gone. Maybe Sokka figures out what he’s doing from his reading history, maybe the White Lotus sights him, but no matter how you dice it the tables have turned and it’s hunt Zuko across the Earth Kingdom time.

Zuko succeeds, and Fire Lord Zuko immediately invites the Avatar and his companions to help oversee the peace negotiations. But BIG OOF nobody takes the 16 year old former puppy Lord seriously.

And everyone’s on the prowl for obscure reasons to keep him away from the throne. Dammit he’s actually still 15 by some obscure calendars and not eligible to rule without a regent because the Phoenix King didn’t change the rules? Fine. Uncle’s regent.

What? He has OTHER responsibilities as an Avatar descendent? Foolish Sages thinking that they could possibly overfill his schedule he has an entire extra three days free now.

Assassins? You UTTER FOOLS better hope Zuko deals with you before Iroh can.

Instead of a Book Three parallel it’s just Zuko and Aang trying to get some Godsdamned Respect without the flashy defeat the Fire Lord battle. Who knew people are more likely to listen to you after you’ve proven you can and will kick their butts?

The story ends when Aang masters all four elements and ascends as a full fledged Avatar, Zuko masters courtbending and ascends as a full fledged Fire Lord, and the adult world leaders accept that This Is Their Lives Now: being overrun with overpowered teenagers.


	4. Bonus Drabble: WW AU- The Avatar Returns Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A Legendary DRABBLE appears!*  
> Behold the fruits of my Crisis Energy (tm.) Trauma apparently unlocks my full potential: The only semester I ever had straight A’s in university was after I had a close encounter of the tornado kind. Fanfiction appears to be an acceptable alternative when school isn’t available.  
> Fear not when I inevitably drop back off the radar. Not going to lie: the US’s COVID-19 response is Not Great, but I am a young, healthy adult living in the relative boonies with upper middle class parents to fall back on. I just can’t sustain Peak Productivity for long. Stay safe, wash your hands, enjoy this while you’re bored enough to tolerate it.

Lt. Jee surveyed the glacier imprisoning his ship with the jaded irritation of a man who started drinking to deal with Spirit shenanigans but built a tolerance to alcohol. The rest of the crew sulked with equal exasperaetdness to melt or chip away ice, escort shivering coworkers to the infirmary, and check for damage.

They’d all desert if anyone suggested going to the Arctic again. They’d find a nice farm in the Colonies, get some cow-sheep for Zuko to redirect his herding instincts on, put out advertisements for sages, and let somebody else deal with this Spirt pig-bullshit. He drew a hard, **hard** line at handsy child Avatars who froze his Spirts damned ship. _His. Spirts. Damned. **Ship**._ He’d petition the Fire Lord himself for a different task if he had to.

Everyone cheered as the last human icicle (a strong Firebender deliberately left for last) stubbled free. Jee walked over and slid a supporting arm under the crewwoman’s armpit. The Firebender and Pikeswoman who’d freed her bowed ( _briefly, barely_ ) and headed back into the icy fray. Akko either grinned or grimaced through chattering teeth. The distinction was often... unclear on this disaster of an assignment.

“Lovely weather. Can absolutely see why the Avatar stayed for a hundred years.”

Jee snorted. “The climate’s matched only by the hospitality. Real holiday potential. Can’t fathom why nobody’s opened a resort yet.”

They both snickered. Akko needed Jee’s support to navigate the stairs on stiff knees, but otherwise moved freely. Good. Jee pushed her towards an empty bed and resigned medic and waited.

The anticipated fur ball failed to appear.

Jee surveyed the room more thoroughly: still no prince. No prince laid up on an infirmary bed, either, but Jee’s blood pressure spiked anyway.

Zuko’s shepherd-collie form ABHORRED an injured ‘flock.’ The Midnight Sun interfered with the curse (not in the way they had hoped, of course), but habit should have compelled him to fuss and discretely nudge beds and people closer even if the underlying need was diminished.

The elusive superior officer at rest summoned Acting-Medic Sato like a batmoth to flame. A snarling, snapping batmoth. She shoved a covered bowl at him with a scowl.

“Take that to Zuko’s quarters. He’s banned until he’s un-concussed enough to stop tripping over the beds. No reading until then either.”

Jee raised an eyebrow, stalwartly ignoring his sudden changes in heart rate.

“A casualty report would be nice.”

Sato glared. “What casualties? It’s just ice. And this was our quickest time yet.”

Jee considered saying something about ‘just ice’ and hypothermia, but let her have the point. They’d gotten very, very fast at unfreezing people over the years. It’d been three ice spirits since their last case of hypothermia, and the Avatar wasn’t even attacking them as they dug everyone out of the glacier. All the non-Benders were out in less than five minutes.

Sato walked away in an outrageous breach of both the command chain and common etiquette, but Jee let her have that point too.

Jee was nominally captain on this ship of attitude problems. That meant less than nothing once they found his service records. None of them could even properly creak disrespectfully, and _refused to ask how._

Jee creaked reproachfully to himself on principle. Taking a terse report from a wandering engine tech, he could almost pretend he was a proper Fire Navy officer. A proper Fire Navy officer taking soup to his teenage commanding officer. Who was also furry. To report Avatar related ship damage.

Proper Fire Navy officers were lame, anyway.

Jee found Zuko curled in a predictable kicked-out-of-the-infirmery pout. The fluff ball straightened slightly, tail swishing and eyes sparkling as he turned to face Jee. That never ceased being devastatingly adorable, so Jee forgave him the most recent Spirit disaster. As usual.

They really would have killed him if he wasn’t so cute, wouldn’t they?

Jee sat down, and said nothing of the nest of scrolls Zuko had built on his futon. Telling Zuko not to work was about as productive as telling a real shepherd-collie. He was in bed. He’d seen the soup. Close enough.

“There were no casualties, thank flames,” Jee said. “It’ll take time to melt us out of the ice, but there don’t appear to be any major leaks. Just... dents. We’ll have to repair them at port.”

Zuko sighed, curling back into a morose ball. The ever emotive ears transformed the posture from angry to anxious.

“The nearest port is Zhou’s.”

Jee winced.

“Yes.”

And OH what a pain in the ass THAT was going to be. He immediately started calculating how much “drunken” debauchery they could indulge in before the Commander took official action.

His crew devoted a worrisome amount of time to harrying an officer in good standing, but the slimy bastard deserved every minute of it _and then some_. His general disdain for subordinates and flagrant toadying already set most people’s instincts to ‘flambé.’ Something about his demeanor towards Zuko invoked an intense desire to reduce him to a dockside soot mark.

General Iroh could probably get away with it, but he took his retirement **entirely** too seriously.

Zuko murmured under his breath as he sketched a radius on the map in front of him. Heconsulted a scroll with a picture of a sky bison, then sketched an even larger radius. Jee examined the map incredulously.

“Can sky bison really travel halfway across the world in under a week?” He asked.

Zuko dropped the protractor and smushed his good eye into his hand. “Apparently. Under some conditions.”

Jee gave him a sympathetic pat, gently petting that satin soft spot where fur and hair met. Mutiny. A nice farm in the Colonies. Cow-sheep. Surely they could bribe General Iroh into allowing it.


	5. The Boy in the Iceberg

Zuko stiffened, ears twitching, in what the crew had unfortunately come to recognize as his ‘ _is that a SPIRIT I sense?_ ’ pose. All across the deck, hands tightened around whatever happened to be in clutching radius. Even General Iroh clinked his tile down with trepidation.

Zuko leapt up from his seat next to Iroh. Everyone turned-

-And saw a beam of light shoot up, ground to sky. “

Maybe it’s celestial lights?” Someone wished out loud more than actually suggested.

Zuko twirled around, tail swishing. “That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!”

“Or,” Iroh said, “It’s an ocean spirit luring curious sailors to their doom. We’ve been down this road before, Prince Zuko.”

He played his next hand, as if his knuckles weren’t white around the tiles. As if ‘this road’ were a tedious hike instead of _a damn Spirit tale_.

“Please, sit. Why don’t you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?”

Zuko growled. “I don’t need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar and break the curse!”

He pointed to where the light had just vanished. “Helmsman, head a course for the light!”

Crewwoman Akko quietly slipped below deck to spread the word. They’d been waiting for the provodical other boot ever since Zuko’d transformed in a terrifying few minutes under the Midnight Sun. The universe had yet to fail their worst expectations.

\--------

Zuko stared at the empty horizon where the light had been. As he had for hours.

Iroh sighed. His nephew had never had particularly healthy habits, and the midnight sun was not helping matters. Any matters. Iroh deeply regretted ever mentioning it- as was often the case with the curse.

“I’m going to bed now,” he yawned and stretched theatrically. “Yep, a man needs his rest.”

Zuko flicked an ear backwards, but continued sulking.

Iroh was never sure where his adolescent stubbornness ended and puppy brain induced obtuseness began. So he stopped hinting, just in case.

“Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you’re right, and the Avatar is alive, you won’t find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”

Zuko did whirl around at that.

“Because their honor and humanity didn’t hinge on the Avatar’s capture! Mine does.”

He turned back towards the horizon.

“This coward’s hundred years in hiding are over.”

Iroh sighed at the theatrics. Pulled his wonderful, too loyal for his own good nephew into a hug.

Zuko quickly melted as Iroh carded his hair.

“The Avatar will continue to be there or not in the morning. And whether or not the Avatar’s there, you will continue needing sleep.”

Zuko nodded, and let Iroh gently drag him to bed.

\----------

Iroh would never usually attempt firebending training with his nephew transformed this far, but Zuko’s shepherd-collie brain loved routine and his human brain was quite willing to supply the proper monthly rota. It went exactly as well as one would expect.

“Enough,” Iroh finally said. “Firebending comes from the breath: if you cannot breath, then there’s no point in continuing.”

Zuko _flinched_. Whined low and quiet, ears flattening and tail curling.

“I can get the next set-“

“Enough.” Iroh stood, careful of any suggestions of anger in his body language. Took his nephew’s trembling hand.

“You don’t blame a broken bone when you cannot walk on it. Nor an ostrich-horse when it shies. You must stop throwing yourself at things that cannot change. You only leave yourself broken and bloody.”

Iroh hated the desolation in his nephew’s eyes. But he would not have him end as Ozai wished: dashed against the cruel edges of an impossible quest whose only point was his own demise.

\----------

Half moon was, without contest, _the absolute worst_ for Zuko wrangling. He was somewhat reasonable during the new moon. He was sufficiently distractible during the full. In between? He had A Job To Do, and Spirits help anyone who tried to stop him.

Right now, Zuko’s One True Purpose was to scan the sky for any hints on an Avatar. That didn’t sound overtly dangerous, but this wasn’t the Wani’s first rodeo. A cursed teenager exposed on the open deck was vulnerable to attack from above. To unwitting frostbite from sustained hyperfocus in the Arctic. To-

Old Navy flares in the distance?

Zuko’s ears twitched forward. He practically quivered with excitement as he stared through the spyglass.

“The last airbender!” He cried.

Airbender. Not Avatar. Oh _frost_.

“Quite agile for his old age,” their tiny, very breakable prince added after a thoughtful pause.

An _air Spirit_. Or worse: _an actual airbender_.

 _Koh take it all_.

“Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar… As well as his hiding place.”

General Iroh did not need waking. Spiritually sensitive as he was, he roused from a dead sleep already _knowing_. For all the good that did them.

Men couldn’t outrun spirit tales unless the spirit tale let them. And this one hadn’t let any of them go in years. 


End file.
